Forty-six years ago Sunday, Nov. 22, America’s road into history was suddenly diverted by violence.

Advertisement

The shots echoing through Dealey Plaza in Dallas midday Nov. 22, 1963, felled the young president, forever changed American politics, scarred our nation’s psyche and set off a ripple effect still being felt today.

The legacy forged by John F. Kennedy and the dream he offered are uncertain in meaning and unfilled in the hearts of many Americans.

Most often on anniversaries such as this, we ask, “What might have been?”

What would we be had he lived? Would we have avoided the bitter lesson of Vietnam? Would the Cold War still rage? It’s all fodder for the pundits and fortunetellers.

Today is a day when you hear John Kennedy’s voice time and time again, most often echoing the immortal words from his Inaugural speech urging Americans not to expect government to solve their problems, but instead to step forward and take the lead.

As we look at the challenges facing our nation today we are reminded of two other quotes from this icon of American politics.

The first reminds us again of our individual role and the need to serve our nation not any faction or party — “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

And what of that future? John Kennedy was direct and candid with is perspective — “I look forward to a great future for America — a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.”

We urge our readers, whether they lean left or right or seek the middle of the road, to consider President Kennedy’s words and vision. They are as relevant today as on Nov. 22, 1963.